Airbus Collects Orders For 146 Of The Single-Aisle Jetliners

The first two days of the Paris Air Show have been good for sales of the A320neo, with Airbus officials releasing news of orders for 146 of the re-engined airplanes.

Two of the ordrs for 50 airplanes each were from leasing companies. CIT Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for 50 of the A320neo Family aircraft. The deal was signed Tuesday at the 49th Le Bourget airshow by C. Jeffrey Knittel, President of Transportation Finance at CIT and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers.

This order brings the total number of aircraft in the Airbus order book for CIT to 241 aircraft, comprising 195 A320 Family aircraft (including the 50 A320neo aircraft), 39 A330s, seven A350 XWBs. Of these 141 have been delivered so far.

On Monday, Air Lease Corporation (ALC), the Los Angeles based aircraft leasing company signed an MoU for 50 A320neos, including 14 options. The agreement was signed today by Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, ALC Chairman and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. ALC also announced orders for the acquisition of eleven A330 Family aircraft and one A321.

Just behind the two leasing companies, JetBlue Airways and Airbus on Tuesday announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the airline to purchase 40 A320neo aircraft. The airline has not yet announced its engine selection for the new engine option aircraft. In addition, the MOU will result in JetBlue converting 30 of its current orders for A320 aircraft to the larger A321 model with enhanced wingtip devices called Sharklets.

The New York-based airline's very first aircraft was an Airbus A320 delivered in 1999, one of 173 it has ordered in total – not including Tuesday's announcement.

And, TransAsia Airways of Taiwan announced Tuesday that it has placed a firm order with Airbus for six A321neo aircraft. The airline says the new aircraft will enable it to respond to strong growth on regional services, especially on direct routes between Taiwan and mainland China. TransAsia will announce an engine selection for the new aircraft in the near future.

TransAsia Airways currently operates five A321s and two A320s on domestic and regional services. In addition to the order announced today, the airline already has six sharklet-fitted A321s on order for future delivery.

FMI: www.airbus.com